| Garrison Keillor Fired by MPR: 'I Put My Hand on a Woman's Bare Back,' He Says |
| Wednesday, 29 November 2017 14:59 |
|
Justin writes: "In an email to the Star Tribune Wednesday, Keillor said, 'I apologized. I sent her an email of apology later and she replied that she had forgiven me and not to think about it. We were friends. We continued to be friendly right up until her lawyer called.'"
Garrison Keillor Fired by MPR: 'I Put My Hand on a Woman's Bare Back,' He Says29 November 17
In an email to the Star Tribune Wednesday, Keillor said, “I put my hand on a woman’s bare back. I meant to pat her back after she told me about her unhappiness and her shirt was open and my hand went up it about six inches. She recoiled. I apologized. I sent her an email of apology later and she replied that she had forgiven me and not to think about it. We were friends. We continued to be friendly right up until her lawyer called.” Keillor even managed a joke of sorts: “Getting fired is a real distinction in broadcasting and I’ve waited fifty years for the honor. All of my heroes got fired. I only wish it could’ve been for something more heroic.” Then he turned more serious: “Anyone who ever was around my show can tell you that I was the least physically affectionate person in the building. Actors hug, musicians hug, people were embracing every Saturday night left and right, and I stood off in the corner like a stone statue. “If I had a dollar for every woman who asked to take a selfie with me and who slipped an arm around me and let it drift down below the beltline, I’d have at least a hundred dollars. So this is poetic irony of a high order. But I’m just fine. I had a good long run and am grateful for it and for everything else.” Keillor, 75, retired last year from his longtime radio show, but still produced “The Writer’s Almanac” for syndication by MPR’s parent company, St. Paul-based American Public Media (APM). Officials at MPR said they would not speak beyond a statement that said officials were notified last month of the allegations, “which relate to Mr. Keillor’s conduct while he was responsible for the production of ‘A Prairie Home Companion.’?” MPR said it will:
“I’m in shock,” Thile said on Twitter. “I know nothing beyond what’s contained in the MPR statement but I trust that the proper steps are being taken.” The show’s production team is in New York City for three weekends of live broadcasts beginning Saturday. Representatives refused to comment beyond the MPR statement. “Based on what we currently know, there are no similar allegations involving other staff,” MPR said. “The attorney leading the independent investigation has been conducting interviews and reviewing documents, and the investigation is still ongoing. We encourage anyone with additional information to call our confidential hotline 1-877-767-7781.” In an email to MPR members, the network’s president, Jon McTaggart, said, “While we appreciate the contributions Garrison has made to MPR and to all of public radio, we believe this decision is the right thing to do and is necessary to continue to earn your trust and that of our employees and other supporters so vital to our public service.” Keillor told the Associated Press: “I’m 75 and don’t have any interest in arguing about this. And I cannot in conscience bring danger to a great organization I’ve worked hard for since 1969.” ‘Prairie Home’ history MPR was just two years old when its founder, Bill Kling, hired Keillor as an announcer. Together, they launched “Prairie Home” on July 6, 1974 with a live broadcast from Macalester College in St. Paul witnessed by just a handful of people. It began airing nationwide in 1980 and grew into a hit that fueled MPR’s growth into one of the nation’s largest public radio operations. At the show’s peak, Keillor drew 4 million listeners every week while serving as Minnesota’s cultural ambassador, with tales of the mythical Lake Wobegon that gently skewered the state’s strong work ethic, good-hearted earthiness and humble nature. Keillor appeared on the cover of Time magazine. His book “Lake Wobegon Days” sold more than 1 million copies in 1985. Playgirl named him one of the sexiest men in America. Keillor was also a tireless writer who squeezed in time to write more than a dozen books, host cruises, contribute to major magazines and write the screenplay to “A Prairie Home Companion,” a 2006 fictionalized film about the show with an all-star cast that included Meryl Streep, Woody Harrelson and Lindsay Lohan. He continued a busy schedule after stepping aside as “Prairie Home” host in 2016 touring the country with a similar live show — he was scheduled to perform Wednesday night in Lenox, Mass. — and writing occasional columns for the Washington Post News Service. Column defending Franken Coincidentally, Keillor defended Sen. Al Franken in a syndicated column this week after Los Angeles radio news anchor Leann Tweeden reported that he kissed and groped her without her consent during a 2006 USO tour, before Franken became senator. “He did USO tours overseas when he was in the comedy biz,” Keillor wrote. “He did it from deep in his heart, out of patriotism, and the show he did was broad comedy of a sort that goes back to the Middle Ages. ... Miss Tweeden knew what the game was and played her role and on the flight home, in a spirit of low comedy, Al ogled her and pretended to grab her and a picture was taken. Eleven years later, a talk show host in L.A., she goes public with her embarrassment, and there is talk of resignation. This is pure absurdity and the atrocity it leads to is a code of public deadliness. No kidding.” Keillor also referred to the Franken controversy in an email to MPR News Wednesday that indicated another employee had made allegations; it was unclear whether that person was simply a witness to the same incident. “I have to respect the privacy of the two employees who made the allegations,” he wrote. “I have my own recollection of events, but I don’t want to take issue with Jon McTaggart’s decision. I think the country is in the grip of a mania — the whole Franken business is an absurdity — and I wish someone [would] resist it, but I expect MPR to look out for itself, and meanwhile I feel awfully lucky to have hung on for so long.” |
iting “inappropriate behavior with an individual who worked with him,” Minnesota Public Radio said Wednesday it has terminated its relationship with Garrison Keillor, the former host of “A Prairie Home Companion” who helped build MPR into a national powerhouse.